Kia held its first Virtual Sale with BCA on July 3 with Kia dealers and Live Online bidders participating.

The event was staged at the Oval Cricket ground and marked the official used market debut of the New Kia Picanto and the New Kia Rio.

The auction of 70 cars took place via a giant screen at the Kia Oval where BCA’s auctioneers and the Kia dealers were gathered, with live images and audio of the sale simultaneously available to BCA Live Online bidders.

Nnearly 90% of the entry was sold for an average of 105.67% of CAP Clean. Both debut models had excellent results, the Picanto averaging 111.46% of CAP Clean and the Rio averaging 105.34% of CAP Clean.

David McCluskey, national used vehicle sales manager for Kia said: "With the continued demand for more economical motoring and the pressures on household budgets, the new Picanto and Rio have generated massive interest among motorists and the media alike.

"This was reflected in the exceptional values recorded today in the Kia Virtual sale. This was an outstanding event that achieved an exceptionally strong CAP price performance, particularly for our debut RIO and Picanto models.”

BCA sales director Mark Hankey added: “This debut Virtual sale for Kia was well-supported by the dealer network and Live Online bidders, which is reflected in the excellent price performance achieved.

"By averaging 105% of CAP Clean at a time when wholesale prices have been under some pressure, Kia clearly have a product range that is proving very attractive to retail customers.”